MC commissioner mulls easing traffic snarls on Jagraon Bridge

In a bid to bring relief to commuters, municipal commissioner Rahul Tewari has taken an initiative to ease traffic snarls on Jagraon Bridge.

Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) has given a roadmap to ease the traffic on the bridge that has become a traffic bottleneck, causing inconvenience to commuters entering and exiting Ludhiana.

Two plans, including a long-term and a short-term project, have been discussed with the municipal corporation (MC). The long term project includes a parallel bridge above the existing Jagraon bridge from Durga Mata Mandir Chowk to Vishwakarma Chowk. It would also include widening of existing bridge by constructing pillars on the base for traffic inflow from Vishwakarma chowk.

The short term plan includes trimming of footpaths on the Jagraon bridge that would make more space for vehicular traffic. The green island on the bridge would also be trimmed that would make the bridge wide enough.

Tewari said both proposals had been discussed with the consultants of IL&FS and MC officials.He said additional commissioner Sumeet Jarangal had also taken a stock of the situation and discussed the matter with officials of the buildings and roads wing of the MC.

“We would ask the Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) to talk to railway officials and also with civil engineers to finalise one of the two plans,” Tewari said.

He added that in both the short-term and long-term plans, railways had to be included, as Jagraon bridge was located above the railway lines.

Tewari would now hold a meeting with MC officials on November 12, to carry out a survey at the site so that a decision could be taken.

Widening of Jagraon bridge is also imperative in view of eight laning of Ferozepur road from Durga Mata Mandir to Sidhwan Canal bridge. The eight-laning project will start next month.